To move or not to move? New IUCN SSC guidelines follow the “precautionary principle” and prioritise conservation strategies when considering orangutan translocation
Critically Endangered orangutans are highly threatened by habitat loss, alteration and fragmentation of their habitat, and poaching. As the human footprint expands further into orangutan habitat, human-orangutan conflict becomes a more frequent occurrence, and the question of when or if to translocate individuals, has become a growing concern. New guidelines published by the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group (PSG) Section on Great Apes (SGA), provides clear guidance on when translocations may be appropriate, whilst emphasising approaches to protect orangutans in place.
Adult male orangutan in a community oil palm plantation
In consultation with the wider orangutan conservation community, new guidelines have been developed by the SGA to support in-country decision makers, practitioners, and related stakeholders challenged with managing potential or perceived orangutan-human conflict occurrences. The guidelines emphasise that most orangutans found in plantations, agricultural areas, or small forest fragments are part of regional metapopulations and are at risk primarily if harmed or removed by humans. Rather than being removed, the priority should be to protect orangutans in place through law enforcement, community engagement, habitat protection, and developing coexistence strategies that benefit both orangutans and local communities.
What are the risks of translocation?
Moving orangutans creates welfare risks including extreme stress during capture, social disruption for both translocated individuals and recipient populations, and may result in translocated individuals having difficulty accessing food in unfamiliar habitats. Mortality can occur during and shortly after capture, and most translocated orangutans are not seen again, meaning their survival is uncertain. For recipient populations, translocation can cause social disruption, disease transmission, increased competition for resources, and negative genetic effects. Translocation also disrupts orangutan population structure and functions, fragmenting populations genetically and socially.
When is translocation appropriate?
Translocation is appropriate when an orangutan faces immediate, life-threatening danger and all other protection measures have failed. Appropriate scenarios include: potentially fatal human-caused injuries; people determinedly trying to capture or kill orangutans despite enforcement efforts with no possibility of in situ protection; orangutans with no escape path from active fires or flooding; failed interventions to halt habitat clearing with no escape path; or confirmed unprovoked orangutan attacks on people.
When is translocation not appropriate?
Translocation should not be used to enable habitat clearing; or to remove orangutans visiting crops near forests (a natural behaviour). Translocation is also not a long-term solution for human-orangutan conflicts because it does not address underlying issues, and it depletes local populations and can disrupt their social dynamics and breeding. It is not recommended to supplement viable populations except in cases where an individual is returned to its original population.
Download the publication: “Best practice guidelines for orangutan wild-to-wild translocation”.
IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group (Section on Great Apes) (2025). Best practice guidelines for orangutan wild-to-wild translocation. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group. 58 pp.